Chapter 9

"Everyone is lying?" 

Zhen Ai walked up beside Yan Su, who stood with the night wind tousling his short hair, looking sharp and handsome. His lips curled slightly, without a smile, yet still pleasing to the eye. His gaze was dark, as if the night had seeped into his eyes, deep and insightful like obsidian shimmering beneath rippling water.

Zhen Ai, who never considered herself particularly curious, felt a strong urge to uncover the secret that seemed to make him so relaxed. "How can you tell they're lying?"

He frowned, looking less than pleased as he cast his gaze downward. "I'm hungry."

"Who?" Zhen Ai was baffled; hungry? What kind of clue was that?

"Me," he replied tersely.

Zhen Ai, taken aback, simply responded with a soft "oh" and fell silent, her mind turning. Everyone needs to eat, but hearing him say he was hungry felt oddly surreal.

He looked ahead, calm and composed. "Until my need for food is satisfied, I won't satisfy your curiosity."

Zhen Ai protested, "Aren't we about to go eat? Why are you being so difficult?"

He tilted his head slightly, glancing at her with a sidelong look. "I'm not being difficult."

"What I said just now is my usual attitude. Your conclusion that I'm difficult doesn't logically follow."

Zhen Ai opened her mouth to argue but slowly closed it, feeling somewhat defeated.

Owen had caught up by now. "We missed the reservation at the restaurant. I just called, and they said there's no more space."

Yan Su accepted this with ease, striding toward the car. "Then let's cook ourselves."

Owen quickly suggested, "Let AI join us."

Yan Su paused, sizing up Zhen Ai. "Why?"

Before Zhen Ai could intervene, Owen spoke up, "AI's old apartment is too noisy, and she hasn't found a new place yet. Can she stay with you for a few days?"

Yan Su looked puzzled. "Doesn't she have a dorm?"

Owen hesitated, then said, "..."

"Wasn't there a murder there recently?" 

Yan Su appeared even more confused. "So... wouldn't it be quieter?"

How was his mind working?

Owen was exasperated. "You're suggesting a girl should live in a place where a murder just occurred?"

"Oh~~" Yan Su said, finally understanding, and turned to Zhen Ai as if showing sympathy. "So you're afraid of ghosts. But you should believe in science—there's no such thing as ghosts."

Zhen Ai replied calmly, "I don't believe in ghosts, but isn't there something in this world that's scarier than ghosts?" She lowered her eyes and chuckled to herself, "Though I'm not afraid of that either."

Yan Su narrowed his eyes slightly, the night accentuating her fair complexion. Just stepping out from indoors, her cheeks still held a faint flush, and her beautiful, dark eyes appeared empty and ethereal, lacking any emotion. It was as if the events around her left no trace in her eyes.

He studied her for a moment, seemingly pondering something before finally deciding:

"No."

Owen, feeling defeated, nearly shouted, "For God's sake, S.A.! Be a gentleman!"

Yan Su calmly countered, "Oh, so being a gentleman means inviting Miss Zhen Ai to stay at my home?"

"Why not? You have plenty of room!"

Yan Su replied earnestly, "Her staying would disrupt the balance of my home."

"What balance?"

After a long silence, Yan Su said, "I've only had Marie, Isaac, and Albert in my home. No other female has lived there. Female hormones are emotional molecules, and I reject any emotional influence."

Zhen Ai struggled to understand, her head filled with question marks.

Owen sighed, "Marie is a maid from Singapore, Isaac is a parrot, and Albert is a tropical fish."

Zhen Ai looked at Yan Su in disbelief. "You named your pets after Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton?"

"While I appreciate your recognition of their namesakes, I don't like your attitude toward them." Yan Su raised his chin, appearing somewhat displeased. "Albert is a very intelligent fish, and Isaac can recite all the laws of mechanics in English with a thick British accent… P.S. He loves apples."

Zhen Ai nodded. "You chose Marie as your maid because her name is the same as Madame Curie's, right?"

Yan Su squinted at her for a moment, lips pursed. "You're smarter than I thought… Okay, you can stay at my place."

An hour later…

Zhen Ai sat at the bar in the open kitchen, watching in disbelief as the tall man in the kitchen removed his jacket.

She had never seen anyone cook with measuring cups, test tubes, small scales, and pipettes. The main dish, side dishes, and seasonings were all neatly organized in sequential order, as if lined up like well-behaved children during military training.

The cook silently counted the seconds in his mind, timing everything precisely and keeping the order flawless.

Owen sat nearby, sipping water. He explained that Yan Su's timing was impeccable, and Zhen Ai leaned forward, surprised. "Isn't it all food? It doesn't need to be that precise."

Yan Su ignored her entirely.

Owen nudged Zhen Ai's arm. "See? He even analyzes other people's controlling tendencies."

Yan Su retorted, "This isn't control. Cooking is a science. The cross-section, the lengthwise cut, the size and ratio of ingredients, the heat, the order of the food—all these factors affect the final result. It's like conducting a chemistry experiment."

Silence filled the room…

No, wait.

Three crows flew overhead.

After several seconds of thought, Zhen Ai hesitantly replied with an "Oh~~~" indicating she understood.

"However, I thought you were making Western cuisine," Zhen Ai said.

"I prefer Chinese food," Yan Su responded without looking back, continuing his meticulous work.

Before long, various dishes were served, and Zhen Ai was left speechless.

The pine nut mung beans were arranged in a crop circle, sweet corn resembled Van Gogh's famous painting "Sunflowers," the shrimp and vegetables formed a Mayan pyramid, the wasabi salmon resembled a mini Great Wall, and the green pepper beef mirrored Pascal's triangle.

Zhen Ai gulped. "Did you really make all this for us to eat?"

Zhen Ai focused on the fact that the food was for people to eat, not just for display, but Yan Su misunderstood her point entirely, responding with a puzzled look, "Why are you questioning your humanity?"

Zhen Ai was at a loss for words. After tasting a bite, she praised, "Yan Su, if you ever stop deciphering codes and catching perverts, you could be a chef."

Such praise had no effect on Yan Su. "You're easily swayed," he said disdainfully. "If being good at something dictates your profession, then I could be a gambler, chef, pastry chef, pianist, violinist, go player, or chess master…"

Owen, overhearing, felt a surge of frustration. "Shut up!"

Zhen Ai quickly interjected, "Gambler? Are you good at mental math? Have you ever cleaned out a casino in Vegas?"

Yan Su's expression darkened. "You only heard that? It's the one I despise most."

Zhen Ai fell silent, and Yan Su resumed eating. She tried to recover the conversation by asking, "So why did you choose password logic and behavioral analysis?"

He ignored her.

Zhen Ai pressed on, "Why?"

Yan Su finally glanced at her, "Because my IQ is too high, and I don't want to waste it."

Zhen Ai regretted asking that question, realizing she should have kept quiet.

The trio ate in silence until Owen noticed something amiss. "AI, don't you like salmon?"

"No."

"Then why haven't you eaten any? S.A. sliced it well." He chuckled, "He even calculated the marinating speed of different salmon thicknesses and the ratios of soy sauce to wasabi."

Yan Su remarked, "People who like fish are smart; those who don't are foolish."

Zhen Ai challenged him, "Raw salmon can carry bacteria like Salmonella and Vibrio, not to mention parasites that can invade the intestines."

A flock of crows flew overhead...

Owen dropped his utensils dramatically, leaning over the table in despair. "Ai, if you keep this up, I might actually lose it."

Zhen Ai chuckled. "I'm just joking; salmon is really delicious." She picked up a piece, dipped it in wasabi, and deliberately glanced at Yan Su.

He remained unfazed.

Zhen Ai felt a wave of defeat.

After dinner, Owen went for a walk in the woods, while Yan Su settled down with a book in the library, and Zhen Ai followed Marie to her room.

The second floor was styled like a classic European castle, with plush carpets, stone walls, and intricate hallways that could easily confuse anyone without a guide.

Her room was right next to Yan Su's—simple and clean, with no excess decor.

Marie helped her make the bed while mumbling about Yan Su's poor bone health, explaining that all the beds were hard, adding, "He's a man of strong will, a miracle."

Zhen Ai didn't quite understand and didn't ask further; once settled, she and Marie headed downstairs.

In the library, Yan Su sat with his eyes closed in a wheelchair, long legs crossed atop a piano stool. He seemed either deep in thought or resting, his handsome face softened by the light.

With his insightful eyes closed, he appeared unusually serene, even somewhat vulnerable.

Long strings stretched between the piano and the bookshelf, displaying rows of photos and notes.

"Thinking about testimonies?" Zhen Ai asked, leaning against the piano since there was nowhere else to sit.

Yan Su slowly opened his eyes. Noticing her standing, he silently shifted his legs to make room. Zhen Ai glanced at the fading imprint of his heel on the piano stool, feeling oddly stirred, but she settled beside him.

"Not really."

He looked down, lost in thought. When he raised his gaze again, clarity returned. "Do you know why the answers from the four witnesses are so similar?"

Zhen Ai stayed silent, aware he preferred to speak his mind.

"Because vague answers are the safest. Everyone has things they want to hide yet are curious about whether the police know. So they appear cooperative but actually say nothing."

Zhen Ai bit her lip, her dark eyes shimmering under the light. "But you're implying this small case is nothing for you, right?"

"Exactly."

"Seventy-five percent of human communication is nonverbal. Even if they express 25% of their lies verbally, I can see 75% of the truth." Yan Su's long fingers brushed over the piano keys, producing a haunting melody. 

"It's unfortunate they crossed paths with me."